A Brief History of Liquid Flavour / Additives.
Liquid flavours were first added to baits by carp anglers looking to give their bait a "label". The idea was that after pre-baiting, the carp would accept their bait as a food source. The flavour acting as a "identifying signal" to the carp, to home in on that anglers baits. For anyone not sure what pre-baiting means, the bait is introduced into the water for a period of days or weeks on a regular basis, before it's used on the hook. The anglers hopes that this gives time for the fish to identify the bait as food and that it is safe to eat, without being hooked.
Over a period of time it was found that certain flavours were much better at catching carp than others, so the idea of using flavours as fish attractors was born. Perhaps two of the most famous attractors are Scopex and Tutti Frutti.
In the time before boilies were invented, when things like sweetcorn and luncheon meat were secret baits (I'm not joking), carp anglers used paste baits, to which they added their flavours. It was then found that some flavours were very good at attracting other fish besides carp. One of the best that springs to mind was Maple Creme, bream used to love the stuff.
Eventually someone got fed up with getting out of the bivvy all night to catch bream, so the boilie was born. A boilie has a hard skin on the outside to deter fish other than carp. I suggest anyone who wants to know more about boilies visits my other site fishforcarp.com - but finish reading this page first.
Not All Flavours are Created Equal.
As I mentioned above some flavours were found to be much better at catching fish than others. One of the most famous is Scopex, which has a creamy, toffee type smell. It was first sold by Rod Hutchinson and is now sold by Kevin Nash. This led to other bait companies selling their creamy / toffee flavours labeled Scopex in an attempt to cash in on the success of Rod Hutchinson's Scopex. Another example of this is the Richworth Tutti Frutti flavour, which is a superb carp attracting flavour. A number of other bait companies soon had there own versions of Tutti Frutti on the market.
The point I am trying to make is very important and I will come to now. Liquid flavours are made up of chemicals, oils etc dissolved in a base liquid. Two different companies can sell a flavour called Tutti Frutti. The flavours might smell similar to us, but they may well be made of different ingredients to each other. In other words one make of Tutti Frutti might be very attractive to fish, the others not so.
So if a mate of yours tells you he is catching a lot of fish on a strawberry additive, don't just dash down to the local tackle shop and grab the first bottle of bait additive with strawberry on it, make sure you get the same make as your mate. If you don't your type of strawberry additive may be not such a good fish catcher. It might smell the same, but it won't be made up of the same ingredients.
Types of Additives / Flavours.
Things have moved on a lot since the early days of carp fishing, with first the match and now the pleasure angler realising the value that flavours etc can add to a bait. You only have to walk into a tackle shop and you are confronted by a vast array of different liquids and powders to add to your hook baits and groundbait.
There are many different types on sale. Some are highly concentrated flavours that are used to flavour boilies. Others are more diluted, so they can be directly applied to baits or used a bait soaks. Some are water based, others are oil based.
Always remember that a few on sale will be a lot better fish catchers than the rest.
Boilie Flavours.
These are very concentrated flavours, they need to be as they need to escape through the tough skin of a boilie and escape to the outside lake water.
Because of their strength they are excellent as flavours for adding to sweetcorn and other particles, adding to pastes etc. To flavour sweetcorn, open a tin, add 5ml (a good teaspoon full) of boilie flavour, give a good shake and leave over night. You can also add dye if you wish.
They are also great with expander pellets, add 5ml to the water before pumping or soaking.
Another one worth a try is if you are into pastic baits, such as fake sweetcorn etc., soak for plastic bait in neat boilie flavour for a few months. You can always add numerous pin pricks to your bait to help the flavour go into the bait. You really do need concentrated boilie flavours to do this, a lot of additives sold in tackle shops are just not strong enough for the job.
Flavours that I can recommend are:
Scopex, Chocolate Malt, Maple Cream - Kevin Nash.
Cranberry, Strawberry - they are under the Nutrafruit label by Nutrbaits.
Milky Toffee, Frutella - Mainline Baits.
Ester Cream, Ester Strawberry (good on their own or mixed together) - Solar.
Tutti Frutti, Honey Yucatan - Richworth Black Top Label.
Be careful when using these flavours they are highly concentrated. Don't overload baits with neat flavour as you could end up repelling fish. Always read the label on the bottle, which should give some idea of dosage. If adding to paste, use about half as much flavour as you would add to a boilie mix. If in doubt start on the low side and see how you go.
Less Powerful Liquid Additives.
These additives are less powerful than boilie flavours. An excellent example of what's on offer is the Van Den Eynde range pictured on the right.
They can be added to groundbaits, used as bait soaks. They are near as concentrated as the boilie flavours above, so more needs to be added. With most it it difficult to overload, so you can normally add as much additive until your bait tends to smell nice. As with any additive, always read the instructions on the bottle and experiment with levels. Lets be honest trying different things is part of the fun.
If using to flavour particles such as sweetcorn, open a tin leave the sweetcorn juice in, give a good squirt or two of your additive and leave over night. If using as a bit soak for boilies, don't be afraid to cover the boilies in liquid in a small container, for a few weeks or months. In general these additives are not strong enough to flavour artificial corn etc.
They can also be kept in the tackle bag and baits given a boost when you are fishing.
Recommended Additives.
Below I've listed a few additives that I have used myself and found to be effective. The problem with additives is that you can never really be sure if you would still have caught the same fish, if you hadn't added the additive in the first place - if you see what I mean. So it's a case of trying them out over a good few fishing sessions, to try and see if the additive your using does increase the attraction of your bait.
Corn Steep Liquor.
Corn Steep Liquor is the liquid that is left over from maize fermentation. It has a beer / malty type smell and is full of sugars, protiens etc. It is highly regarded by carp anglers and is sold by almost all bait companies.
It's great as a groundbait additive or as a bait soak. For groundbaits you can use a high dossage, 20 to 30ml or more per pound or grounbait, but don't be afraid to go higher.
As a bait soak it can be added to particles such as sweetcorn, or shaken up over night with cubed luncheon meat etc.
One final note, most companies sell it heat treated to kill of any further fermentation. A very few sell the "live" version, which is still active, so it needs to be kept in the fridge. I have found the "live" version to be outstanding, so if you can find it, give it a go. The last time I got some was from QualityBaits.co.uk.
Liquid Molasses.
Liquid Molasses is a very dark, thick, treacle like liquid. It is very sweet and contains a lot of sugars. Bream and carp seem to love it. It is a natural sweetener.
It's great as a groundbait additive and as or as part of bait soak. For groundbaits you can use a high dossage, 20 to 30ml or more per pound or grounbait, but don't be afraid to go higher.
It can be added on its own to particles such as sweetcorn or added to pastes, boilies etc. If your going to use it as a bait soak, it is brilliant mixed with Corn Steep Liquor, using equal amounts of each. So if you want to give your luncheon meat some real pulling power, shake up some cubes in this mixture and leave over night. Again this mixture can be added to pastes and boilies.
Liquid Molasses is sold by a lot of bait companies. It is also sold by some seed merchants and shops that sell horse feeds etc., at a fraction of the price.